the show is officially looking at wintertime share of florida. a win ster storm warning over the middle part of the country ready to drop up to 10 inches of snow on kansas city for one, this is all moving east, it's possibly going to impact another 18 states. 30 million americans over these next few days. bill karins, our friend, keeping track of it all. also, a new poll out this morning shows the president enjoying a pretty significant lead over the republicans in congress over many of the key issues of the day among them gun control, imdprags reform and the deficit. but we want to begin, again, today in south africa, you're looking live now at the courthouse, this is where there are new questions this morning not about olympian oscar pistorius about the prosecution's key witness that are already threatening to undermine this case. today the lead detective hilton

botha is facing attempted murder charges of his own from an accident dating back to 2011. he allegedly fired at a mini bus that didn't heed his warnings to stop. and the case against pistorius continued to unravel. investigators lost track of illegal ammunition that was found inside the house. and botha walked through the crime scene without protective shoe coverses. he admitted that he didn't read the whole name on the container that the defense said contained only herbal supplements. botha conceded that one of the

witnesses lived at least 1,000 feet away. several football fields away from the home. prosecutors believe that pistorius put on his prosthetic legs, walked into his bathroom before shooting and killing his girlfriend. he was locked in an adjacent toilet room. pistorius claims that he wasn't wearing prosthetic, that he was simply terrified of a burglar. detective botha admitted that there wasn't enough evidence to disprove his version of events. we want to turn now to politics, where the battle to gain public support for his second-term agenda new polling shows that president obama has a commanding lead over congressional republicans on a host of big issues.

that's according to new numbers from usa today and pew research center, 45% of those polled said they support the president's approach to cutting the federal deficit. 38% support republicans. even a majority of republican voters endorsed tax hikes as well as spending cuts as the president's proposing. on gun reform, the president polls six points higher. it wideens significantly when it comes to climate change. 47% back the president. while 26% support the republicans. let's move to immigration. a third endorse the republicans in tackling this issue. the president conducted interviews with eight separate markets. he told san antonio, the white house plan on immigration that leaked over the weekend was only

a fail safe in case talks break down on capitol hill. >> i have said repeatedly that i want congress to go ahead and negotiate and get a bill done. and what else i said, we're preparing with a bill, we're going to put a bill on the floor of the united states senate, information floats out of washington all the time. that shouldn't prevent anybody from moving forward. >> of course, even more pressing is that march 1st deadline that we talked about. the pentagon will be hit by this. that same set of polling far more americans would blame republicans if what they call the sequester kicks in. less than one third would hold the president accountable. still more than a week away, already it appears the writing is on the wall. civilian employees have been

told by the pentagon they'll be placed on unpaid leave, at least one day a week. democrats are calling for congress to reconvene to deal with this mess. secretary of state john kerry is reminding his former colleagues that actions here at home do have global implications. >> it's often said that we cannot be strong at home if we're not strong in the world, but in these days of a looming budget sequester that everyone actually wants to avoid or most, we can't be strong in the world unless we are strong at home. my credibility as a diplomat to create order is strongest when america at last puts its own fiscal house in order and that has to be now. let's reach a responsible agreement that prevents these

senseless cuts. >> senator marco rubio continues his week long trip to the middle east today. the florida republican sat down yesterday with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. rubio wasted little time weighing on a significant issue there, that jerusalem is in his view the capital of the country. there were some lighter moments as well. this was a good one. including a photo tweeted out by a rubio staffer. thank the prime minister for having plenty of water on hand. "new york times," saying reporters there in syria see no

end in sight to one photographer calls a bloody stalemate during his trip overseas, senator rubio said told sky news that he believes that the u.s. should provide more aid fir the rebel and if we're not engaged, then i think we increase the chances the outcome there is going to be very negative. certainly assad remaining in power is not good. in the aftermath of that the worst case scenario would be a security vacuum or a government dominated by radical islamists. they need ammunition. >> russia has joined the arab league to broker a peace talks.

here's a major reversal from last summer the governor of florida, republican rick scott said that he now supports expanding medicaid in his state despite opposition from tea party supporters many of whom who worked to get scott elected. expanded medicaid could cover more than 1 million low-income people in florida. at least seven republican governors have signed on to the med medicaid expansion. former congressman jesse jackson jr. is facing jail time after pleading guilty after misusing thousands of dollars from campaign funds with his famous father in the courtroom, a tearful jackson apologized to his family and to the people in chicago. >> reporter: for jesse jackson

jr. the walk into the courthouse was the end of a slow-motion fall from grace. he told a judge, for years i have lived off my campaign, admitting that he took money received in political contributions and made 3,000 purchases for himself and his wife over the past seven years. a $43,000 gold watch. $19,000 for one of michael jackson's guitars. 16,000 there are for a pair of alcade. total value $750,000. >> jesse jackson jr. had the drive, the ability, and the talent to be the voice of a new generation. but he squandered that talent. >> reporter: as he left, jackson was apologetic. >> not a proud day. >> reporter: but his lawyers at age 47, he still has a promising future. >> a man that talented, that

devoted to public service, a man who has done so much for so many, has another day, there will be another chapter in jesse jackson's life. >> reporter: his wife was at the same courtroom tearfully pleading guilty to a related charge. jesse jackson jr. will be sentenced in june and most certainly face prison time, as much as four years. >> we want to move on to business right now. wall street looking to rally now as stocks closed at near sessions low. the dow lost more than 100 points. for more, let's check in with karen cho. she's love in london for us. karen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. investors are seen this market, this time, the fed suggesting that some of the board members have concerns about the qe

purchases taking place. the minutes suggested that some of the members may want that program tapered off before then. also watching heinz shares as well today after the fbi launched its own investigation into illegal trades around heinz. $1.7 million was made from some sort of inside knowledge of this takeaway. and there's been so many deals out there. "new york times" may be the latest to throw its hat in the ring with the possible sale of boston globe. a price tag, how much is this business worth? $150 moll to $175 million cash flow.

keep in mind, the "new york times" purchased this company for $1.5 billion. so a significant loss. >> a huge loss over two decades. karen tso in london, thank you very much. we appreciate it. as always let us know why you're awake. tweet me if you like, at peter alexander. still ahead -- "way too early." kobe bryant and item mates paying tribute to late owner jerry buss. that's next in sports. plus conan o'brien being announced as the host for this april's upcoming white house correspondents dinner. this is not his first rodeo. we'll show you a blast from conan's blast, 1995 to be

expect. that clip and weather when "way too early" comes right back. i saw people crawling on the floor. i saw -- i so i got down, too, when i was looking out, i saw someone looking at amazement to the front. i knew they had shot my husband. [ male announcer ] when was the last time something made your jaw drop? campbell's has 24 new soups

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all your important legal matters in just minutes. protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. tens of thousands of dollars in hidden fees on their 401(k)s?! go to e-trade and roll over your old 401(k)s to a new e-trade retirement account. none of them charge annual fees and all of them offer low cost investments. e-trade. less for us. more for you. chilly morning here in the nation's capital. 26 as i drove into the building. we'll check on the forecast because a lot of americans are going to experience some cold and in many cases snowy wet weather across this country. nbc meteorologist bill karins in new york. >> this is the biggest storm of the winter, peter, for our

friends in the central plains. travel is not recommended if you don't have to, especially kansas, missouri, portions of northern arkansas, northern oklahoma. eventually up to nebraska and iowa. the storm itself will impact everyone. the worst of it, right now, don't be on i-35 in kansas, the kind of snow you get where cars get stranded and stuck. we have thundersnow covering much of southern kansas. producing snow, about 2 inches an hour right now from arkansas border all of the way back over to oklahoma, to southern portions of kansas, this will be up in kansas city right during the peak of the morning rush hour. further to the south, thunderstorms will go through the dallas/ft. worth area. again, gusty winds, probably the worst of that. so, how much snow in is the bull's eye is going to be from i-35, what wichita to topeka.

as far as the big cities go, the worst of it will be omaha, des moines, wichita. a minor snow event from minneapolis to chicago, milwaukee, des moines and further to the south. here's some specifics for the big cities. again, kansas city, best chance of getting up to a foot. but omaha and wichita, definitely some heavy snow to shovel. then lesser amounts, minneapolis, denver and st. louis is going to be nasty, sleet and freezing rain. east coast, you're fine today. a different storm will be arriving here on saturday night and sunday. a significant snowfall for interior new england. coastal areas, rain to snow. >> we always appreciate when you bring the bad weather just in time of the weather. >> three weekends in a row, by the way. >> it's been asy saser the. the lakers paying tribute to

late owner jerry buss. a minute-long speech before the game. >> through our years being here at the staples center the one thing that we could always count is the late owner dr. jerry buss, overlooking his franchise from his box. >> the spotlight's there on the spotlight, highlighting his seat in the owner's box. some history made late in the third. steve nash. with that assist passes the magic man for the fourth place on the all-time career assists list. now, we want to move on to college hoops quickly. oklahoma state hosting ninth-ranked kansas. jayhawks, final minute of regulation, a nasty crossover by the jayhawks, johnson. great defense there.

the shot is batted into the stands. this one goes to double overtime. kansas down by one. the floater. he drops it. puts kansas up 68-67. four minutes later. time expires, the jayhawks, folks, their hopes for the big 12 title remains alive. finally a good old-fashioned high school buzzer beater, this one coming from west salem, oregon. those things never get old. west salem, chris sending his opponents packing with his last-second shot to win it. it was his only points of the

game. with that conference tournament win, west salem heading to the oregon state playoffs. congratulations to those guys. coming up at the top of the hour -- on "morning joe" new polling shows president obama out in front of republicans on everything from immigration to guns, james carville joining us to help us break down the numbers and whether the white house has the political capital to get something done. there he is. "way too early" coming back. [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. are you in good hands?

all right. enough of the real news. let's talk washington, d.c., comedy. the white house correspondents association has chosen comedian conan o'brien to headline this year's dinner in april. o'brien hosts his weeknights show "conan" on tbs. he'll be 50 years old just days before the dinner. he once wrote for saturday night live, the simpsons. not the first time that o'brien hosted the correspondents dinner, we dug into the archives and it happened in 1995, then-president bill clinton in charge. >> this is a true story. some idea of newt gingrich's popularity. a company is manufacturing

underwear with newt gingrich's face on it. that's true. yeah, now, someone told the president this, nothing to me he's been on my butt for two years. that's a quote that was in the "times." i read that in the "times." the source is here. the president has actually allowed a comedian to interview him live, right here, at the dinner. so, ladies and gentlemen, please give a nice, big hand to the president of the united states, president clinton! give him a hand. >> hi, how you all doing. >> mr. president, i think we need to clear something up, if i'm talking to you here on the screen, who is this gentleman right here, i don't understand. >> he's the guy who messed up health care. >> okay, mr. president. >> where are you at this moment? i don't understand.

>> right now, i'm over at the house of representatives. i'm still making my state of the union speech. oh well, if no one's watching, hey, everybody, i hinhaled. i smoked my brains out. they used to call me "weed willy." >> that's fine, sir. >> "weed willy." still ahead on a "way too early" your tweets and texts. "morning joe" just moments away. s a world of delight... ♪ a flavor paradise of delicious fishes ♪ ♪ friskies seafood sensations. ♪ ♪ feed the senses.

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s. all right, quickly, the developing news from south africa, happening live right now. the lead detective in the oscar pistorius murder case is now facing his own allegations of attempted murder for allegedly opening fire on a van a few years back. top prosecutors are calling for that detective hilton botha to be dropped from the pistorius case. they call the timing totally weird, saying that the detective should be replaced. now threatening to